Few studies on legitimation of new technologies were able to provide insights into the longitudinal changes in legitimacy outcomes and the social dynamics that underpin such outcomes. Using a novel mixed-methods approach, combining Natural Language Processing with a qualitative text analysis, and drawing on the concept of social cohesion to investigate the social relations among actors, the study offers new insights into the legitimation of cultured meat in Germany. Using 424 newspaper articles, we identify four topics in the public discourse related to cultured meat and positive average sentiment on each topic over the period 2011–2021. Furthermore, we find the actors, groups, and social relations that shape the observed legitimacy outcomes. The empirical findings are used to develop propositions about the role of social cohesion in legitimacy creation. The study paves the way for future studies on social cohesion dynamics in socio-technical change.

中文翻译：

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在德国创造人造肉的合法性：社会凝聚力的作用


很少有关于新技术合法性的研究能够深入了解合法性结果的纵向变化以及支撑这些结果的社会动态。该研究采用新颖的混合方法，将自然语言处理与定性文本分析相结合，并利用社会凝聚力的概念来调查参与者之间的社会关系，为德国人造肉的合法化提供了新的见解。我们利用 424 篇报纸文章，确定了 2011 年至 2021 年期间与人造肉相关的公众讨论中的四个主题以及每个主题的积极平均情绪。此外，我们还发现了影响观察到的合法性结果的行动者、群体和社会关系。实证研究结果用于提出关于社会凝聚力在合法性创造中的作用的命题。该研究为未来研究社会技术变革中的社会凝聚力动力学铺平了道路。